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Plan of Action.
Team Titan Think Tank Issue 39, "Power War", Part 3- "Plan of Action." Front cover- this cover displays the main players of the two different teams, on the left side is the Think Tank, on the right is the Tyrants. Kaan'Qsst and Tommy Gunn stand more or less front and centre, facing each with other, Kaan'Qsst with mulitple cannons protuding from arms and shoulders, Gunn sat in the car he 'borrowed' from Psychic, a red car, with a multitude of cannons, lasers and launchers also spread from it. In the background, the others of each team are opposite other major players. Sonne Gunn is opposite Citizen Ape, one firing gravity beams that are deflected by a sonic blast from the other. Cain and Icarus fly up in the air in the furthest background, Cain shooting lighting, icarus white fire and also in the air are Great Briton, blasting a beam of hope at Dark Magician, repelling with a dome of black energy. On the ground, Tonic gestures in front of her, creating a wall of earth as Null fires his circles of concentric white energy at the wall. Mr Psychic and Fraud stand in the middle of the cover in the background, Psychic with his Fist-e-cuffs out, whilst Fraud just yawns. Rajah and Biohazard shoot rays of green energy at each other. And Crimson Caber flies above Bio-Luminal, one aglow with red energy, the other green. The issue opens showing the Think Tank in a circle from above, with them being Tommy, tinkering with the car as he looks over his shoulder to talk to the team, Biohazard, in the Tommy Gunn suit (formerly Ripcage)r, Team Titan Black (Iron Jack, Katana and Damage Control... Le Qui hasn't been seen since he shot Black Nightmare and disappeared) and the Mega Heroes (Counter, still with super-speed and energy sword, parry, without both, and the shapehsifting Vor, Glub.) Tommy says "All right, so whats the..." The story arc title "Plan of Action" appears below his speech bubble in big blue letters, POWER WAR PART 3 appearing in blocky steel coloured letters in the right hand corner "Dad, you should have my suit..." Sonne whispers to his father. "And what are you gonna fight in then?" he says quite out loud, turning to his son. Tonic moves over towards the Mega Heroes "...Parry? I might be able to help you. Y...you said your powers had been stolen away?" Sonne flinches. "... I can't see, Dad. You're a far better fighter than me, and you can see." "Better fighter? I'm not the one whose spent pretty much all his life at a super hero training academy in space. And you seem to be coping without the sight so far, as much as it sucks. I need every asset I can get, right now" Tommy says to Sonne "And don't worry abiout me... gonna have some armour sorted in a jiffy..." He turns back and plugs some wires in the advanced tech he has taken from his armour and put into the car. He slams the bonnet down. "Since Biohazard's back in business, time for the return of another Team Titan favourite..." "That mean I get to call you Slick this time, Sam?" says Biohazard "Maybe..." Tommy turns to his son again and places hands on his armoured shoulders. "You sure you want to sit this out? I assume GRANDDAD has been compensating for you so far through the nanite link." "It's... awkward, Dad. I can manage but LUCKY gives me updates. I renamed the system, after-... you know." Yu turns his attention elsewhere, more interested in what Tonic is doing with Parry. "What? What happened to my pop?" Tommy asks "... Dad, I told you-... Grandad-... he got wiped, when-... Wrench did what he did." "When did you tell me? You mean when I thought you were wiped out by a nuclear explosion moments ago... son you didn't tell me anything, I only just awoke from a terrible psychic induced nightmate moments ago..." He drops to his knees. "****. That means now I lost my Dad... twice." "... I told you when Blitzy-... when he had you. Back at the Television centre." "Wasn't exactly myself at the time, kid..." he gets to his feet. "Anyway. Grieving later." He wipes his eyes. They are slightly red and moist. He places a hand on his Dad's shoulder. "Never really thought of that machine as my Dad... but now its gone... it was the last..." He gives his son a massive hug. "Keep the armour on. You want to stay out of this, I am cool with that. Just lost my dad, so I'll keep my son out of harm's way if thats what he wants. But keep the armour. Just in case." He lets go of him and looks into his eyes "Okay?" "Hey, I thought you were dead. You missed my graduation, you scrapshunt." he laughs the tension away, bringing his Dad into another hug. "I don't want you anywhere else but nearby, Dad. Except for when I bring girls home." "Then in that case..." he opens the car door and jumps into the drivers seat, and then opens the passenger seat. "Fancy riding shotgun?" "Oh, a Groundcar! How novel." Gunn hops the car with a burst of space powers, before moving to sit inside. "Groundcar? HAH! Suit, rename to Lightning for further verbal correspondance." "Acknowledged", says the car. "Lets see... Lighting... activate combative mode... Hermes." "Acknowledged." The car suddenly jolts; the tyres suck inside the vehicle, as anti-grav genrators pop out of the bottom and it hovers. Wings arc up out of the sides and complex guns fold up out of the bonnet. Tommy looks at his and slaps him affectionately on the shoulder. "Groundcar, my arse!" Sonne gives a faint smile, as if trying to look impressed. "You know the Alehixu 400 comes with this as standard..." "Does the Alehixu 400 come with the ability to shift its entire armament and travel capabilities based on a mere vocal command to fight an infinite amount of opponents?" ".... nnnno, that's extra." he gives a sarcastic smirk. "M...Mr P...Pinkley...I don't think we'll be returning t...that car anymore..." Tonic calls over. "... then shut yer smart mouth" Gunn says to Sonne, with his own smirk "Certainly doesn't seem that way, young lady. I'm sure we'll be able to reimburse the owner at least. If they're... *ahem* still alive", Mr Psychic says. Tonic looks back to Parry, who is being hugged by her brother. She looks rather forlorn. Glub sits by them, his giant cartooony eyes blinking sadly "Yeah. No powers. That Icarus guy sucked them out of me", Parry explains. "I...I might be able to help you...on a s...short term basis... to give you t..them back t...temporarily. If...if you wanted me to." "Temporarily? No, no. If they're gone... I wouldn't want them back, and then lose them again." She lowers her head. "That be too much." Then she raises her head more firmly "Besides, I might not have superspeed, but how many chicks do you know that have nearly a lifetime's worth of sword skills?" "D...Don't look at me, I can't c...catch a ball... J...just thought I'd offer. I...he...remembered how strong you are..." "Who?" "...This is h...hurting my head..." she shakes it violently "L...long s...story short, I h...have some of Wrench's memories...stuck in my head..." The two twins step back a bit at that. Counter looks to Parry "You know, I think we should maybe... handle this ourselves." "How? You, me and Glub against Kaan'Qsst's guys... see how that went last time?" Parry says to Counter "P...Please d...don't..." she looks distraught at having seemed to distress them like that. "How. How did you get his memories?" Parry asked. "...I...I used a modified f...form of his n...nanites in c..combination with my own p...powers. I t....thought I'd made every p...precaution against consciousness merge, o...or over-writing, b...but a few memories slipped through...nothing else...j...just those. That bit...I'm sure of. E...especially since the nanites got burned out....in the r...radiation and all. I...I'll j...just go now..." She starts to back away, looking both distraught and embarassed. Counter looks to Parry "You here that... not only has she got the brain of a bad guy in her head, but its the guy Blitzkrieg made us -kill-, and she took that willingly... its this kind of stuff thats exactly why Number One had us say **** it to the GSPD", Counters shouts. He grabs Parry by the arm. "Lets leave these nutjobs to it and find someone who can actually help us." "I...I didn't...I..." Counter then grabs Glub as well. "But Counter w-" The three disappear with a blur of speed. "... well that was unexpected", Cain remarks. Yu looks at Tonic, shrugs and shakes his head. Tonic drops to her knees on the floor and buries her head in her hands. Great Briton comes over to her, bends onto one knee, and wraps his huge arms around her "Its not your fault Dr Toni. Blitzkrieg has damaged them with his control, they will not be able to forget the murder they were forced to commit. But that was not you, you have killed no-one. In fact, in a way, you have kept someone alive, in some form. You are a good person." "But...but I did kill someone..." she looks up, distraught, at Cain, then buries her head in her hands again "I...I didn't mean to do it...but..." "Oh, come now. It's hardly fair to look to me ''when you think of murder." he gripes, arms wide Yu gives Great Briton an expectant look, before glancing away, musing to himself. "...Cain...I...I looked at you because...because I think it was y...your friend..." Cain pauses, his open arms turning to folded and his claw slowly tapping. "That... sounds rather... who, dare I ask?" "A...a pterodactyl...with guns...c...controlled by...by Blitzkrieg...I...I was t...trying to run away. I...I broke the roof and...and he fell. And w...when m..my v..vaccine...r..removed b...blitzkrieg...he...he was dead...Wrench...Wrench remembers that his ...his name was Don Pterana...I...I'm sorry...I...I panicked...I didn't mean to hurt a...anybody..." Cain lets out a sigh, closing his eyes and tightening his claws around his arms. "Well, I suppose that's the Don... accounted for, at any rate. That ''is all the more reason to get rid of this blasted bubble dimension, however. And I'm afraid, dear Tonic... that no matter how hard they try, we all hurt people. While most 'heroes' do so in the name of justice, people suffer all the same." "J...just w..what we all n...needed...m..me giving you even m..more reasons to hate me, huh? I'll...g...go over there and...just s...shut up n...now, I'm making a m...mess of things...again..." Cain looks to the others for signs of contradiction "I do not believe Cain hates you. What he hates is being treated like a criminal" says Crimson Caber, quite frankly "And you are not making a mess. You are merely being... human. And there are many who are much worse at that than you, Bethoni Stevens. Trust me on this. If anyone knows the capabilties of human error, it is I. But, as happy as my Buddha incarnation would have been to philopshise on the nature of humanity, we have a job to do. There will be time to grieve mistakes and friends then", the possesed robotic lifeform finishes. Yu gives a grunt of affirmation, still staring at nothing in particular. Mr Psychic nods reassuringly. Cain has a quiet moment "Hang on... Bethoni... Stevens" says Biohazard "I d...don't remember e...ever doing that b...but...if i did...I...I'm sorry, Cain." Biohazard steps forward and glares at Atomic. "As in... Graham... Stevens..." A radioactive glow appears around his fists. Yu snaps back into focus, watching Biohazard. "Your hurts aren't any worse than what my great Grandad did the universe, mate. Don't blame Toni." Biohazard slams his hands on the bonnet of Lightning, glaring at Sonne. "Sorry. The guy's responsible for my oh so ****ing pretty face, think i got a right to be pissed when i hear his name." Tommy leaps out the car "Hey, hey hey Den, that my son you're yelling at..." He holds out his arms placatingly "You've suffered hurt, and loss. Do you think anyone here would disagree with it? Isn't it what we do now, and going forward, that matters?" Sonne continues. Tonic will scrabble backwards on the floor, away from Biohazard "No, what I suffered was -dying.- I lost my entire body... in fact the real me is dead and I am just some crazy, radioactive cloned MONSTER of him" he looks to Atomic "Because of your Grandad. But then..." his arms go lax "I suppose you know something of my condition." He turns away... ashamed? Hard to tell with a skeleton for a face. "How about you let your relative know how it feels when we see him, huh?" he says with his back turned Yu allows himself to relax. "Y...You think I'm a ...a monster? I...I had n...nothing to do with w...what he did, I...do you KNOW why I'm here? B...Because I t...tried to make W..w.aterstone take my powers away....ALL of them...you...you can see how well that worked...because I was TERRIFIED of doing w...worse than what he did...because...because it would be so EASY for me..." "I never said you were a monster... I said I am" saud Biohazard. "Dennis O'connor, Slick, was a hero, leader of Team Titan, and he died a hero's death. Me, I've just become a murdering vigilante. If Stevens hadn't tampered with my body before I died, i wouldn't have been cloned like this... and cos Moggymoto got it wrong..." He looks to Tommy "You lost it with her. And then she went nuts and tried to kill the whole damn city. My best friend didn't even want some stupid clone running around and he turned on the woman he- he... and then..." He steps towards Atomic. "Now maybe you see why i'd love to rip your grandfather's head off. But you, you aren't your grandfather. Are you? I see that." He puts a metal hand to her face. "Sorry if i scared you... he brings out the worst of my... more monstrous side." He then walks back over to Tommy and Caber, then he looks around to everyone. "So. About that plan." Tonic stays where she was, just...staring blankly in front of her. Yu watches Biohazard walk away, then glances at Tonic. After a moment, he speaks up to whoever might listen. "I have preparations to make. I will need a few minutes." Tommy can't quite make eyes with his best friend now, and has gone a little white. "Prep. What kind of prep? If we're gonna be doing things, we need to do so together." Yu smiles humourlessly. "Mystical things. You reload your guns, tighten your nuts: I need to prepare myself for the battle that will probably come." Tommy looks to his son "He did just tell us to tighten our nuts, didn't he?" Yu doesn't bat an eyelid. Without looking, Tonic answers in a flat monotone "W...What about me, Yu?" "I think it's a Yu thing. He gave me a piece of paper and it helped, I didn't think it best to ask", Sonne says. Yu looks down at Tonic thoughtfully for a moment. "..I might be able to help you find some inner strength." "Okay'', before'' we go off to make magic pieces of paper, can we tell each other what they do? So far, there seems to be a ton of us against about three villains and I assume there's more to it, but i don't know. So we need to come up with a plan to recon our enemy and find what we're doing. ''Then ''you can go and make magic pieces of paper" he directs this at everyone, but mostly Yu. Yu nods slowly. "Very well." "I know where Kaan'Qsst and his allies, Dark Magician, Icarus and Yu, Master of Disguise were located. That is a beginning to finding where they might be. The less we waste time now, the less farther they may have moved" says Crimson Caber. Yu's expression twitches at the mention of his nemesis. "Agreed." "You want to teleport to where they are, you might want to do so, unseen, mon amis" says Le Qui, who materilaises in the midst of them. "I am glad I did not have to reveal your presence myself" says Crimson Caber. Yu jerks instinctively as Le Qui appears, before settling on grimacing darkly. "Oh. Hi." Gunn waves. Toni doesn't respond, just carries on staring vacantly at an empty space. "If your comin', then no tryin' to kill anybody else", Tommy says "You pointed your guns first." "That was for show." Le Qui shrugs "Ze man killed enough people before." "Thats not the GSPD way." "Enough. The damage is done", Yu says. "Well, we are rather not on earth right now. I made a decision. Like Jet Li here says, damage done. Now, you want my help or not?" Le Qui adds. "Okay. Right, so Caber can get us there, Le Qui can get us there incognito..." Gunn muses. "Unless they have any machines like Le Qui says." 21:57:08 Christopher Dean: "They have not had long to prepare defences, and I doubt they remained where I last saw them. We may need some means of tracking their exact location" says Crimson Caber "I can help there", says Yu. "I dare say that if they *know* you've found them, Crimson, that they've had more than long enough over the course of our little altercation to cobble together some cliché, villainous death trap or other, if they were half as sinister as you suggest..." Cain rants. Tonic's head drops in shame again at the words ''little altercation.' "Which is where the ability to find their location remotely beforehand would be helpful. Would your suggestion be along those lines, old friend?" Caber asks Yu Yu nods slowly. "Yes. If there is no alternative, I can also investigate the site you mentioned, look for signs of their passing." Yu shrugs. "Tracks, in other words." "All right.,.." so Gunn looks from Psychic, to Cain, Atomic, Reb, Sonne and to Master of Arms "... so you're supposed to be Team Smart, right... any other preparation suggestions?" "Aside from, stop chasing after the alien who has the power to absorb half of our team's powers, Gunn?" "You mean this Icarus, correct?" "Icarus is not an alien. He refers to Kaan'Qsst. He absorbs technology." Crimson Caber explains "Icarus doesn't absorbs powers, he eats them... for breakfast. Prety literally" Iron Jack says "Technology such as... teleporters, or power suits, or psychic-themed gadgets..." Cain continues to make his point. Yu looks down in thought, before slowly looking across at Tonic. "I am not superpowered. Neither are a few of us. We can take Icarus. Tonic has no devices on her. Who else does not?" "I...incorrect..." she taps her wrist launchers "Icarus drains mutants in particular" Iron Jack adds Yu tilts his head slightly, before nodding in a 'fair enough' manner. "Then you can take them off before you face Kaan'Qsst", he says to Atomic. All around the heroes, in the sky, a mass of green flashes appear as the black costumes of the Militia appear out of the flashes of light. And about 100ft from the team, across the wasteland of the rubble where the team stand, opens a a white cyliner of energy. Out of it step Kaan'Qsst, Fraud, Bio-Luminal, Yu and Null. "Somebody call for a villnaous death-trap?" says Fraud with a smirk End of issue.